Rob Kearney knows two into 15 just won’t go – but he claims the competition provided by Zane Kirchner for the Leinster full-back role will make both men better players.

Springboks star Kirchner has found his stride at the Blues, capping an excellent performance against the Scarlets last Saturday with the fifth and last try in the Pro 12 victory.

But Kearney is in top form as well, as he showed in the Guinness series for Ireland – and in particular with his superb display against the All Blacks.

Fully fit after a rib injury scare, the Louth man is likely to get the nod at noon today when Matt O’Connor names his side to face Northampton at Franklin Gardens on Saturday in the first of two clashes in seven days against the Saints.

O’Connor joked: “Zane said he just wants to play full-back.

“No, so many of the skills are transferable. A lot of the best wingers in the world are actually full-backs, if you look at the Cory Janes and that sort of profile.

“It gives the rugby team a lot to have blokes who are out and out full-backs in the back three.

“ I’m sure he’ll find himself on the wing at some stage because the skill set is so similar.”

Whether that will be on Saturday remains to be seen but O’Connor knows he has to keep two world-class full-backs happy.

That’s nothing new at the province, however, and nothing new for Kearney.

The 27-year-old had to deal with the competition of a top quality rival in Isa Nacewa. When Nacewa returned home to New Zealand in the summer, Kirchner signed on the dotted line and arrived after the Rugby Championship.

“It’s part and parcel,” Kearney smiled. “I know no different, which is good.

“It’s great to have such a good standard of players right across the board, knowing that if you slip up there is someone there to out you pretty quickly.

“It’s good when you are out in front. I can’t imagine it is so great the other side at times.

“Ultimately, it is best for both players involved. It gets the best out of guys whether they like it or not.”

Kearney gives a wry smile at the mention of Ireland coming so close to beating the All Blacks, which was the last chance for quite a few Leinster frontliners.

“It’s no secret that was the one we wanted to win,” acknowledged Kearney. “It’s only natural that you would want to win the biggest ones.”

Ireland didn’t manage it, just losing out in the dying seconds. But Kearney is adamant that it was a one off performance as thoughts begin to turn to the Six Nations.

“Of course not,” he exclaimed. “You set a bar there. You have a potential.

“Okay, you’re not going to get to those levels every single week. But, you can get pretty close to them at times.

“The important thing for us is that we don’t have that big dip like we had in the second test.

“If we can get as close to that level that we set every single week, we’ll be in a good place.”

There’s a suggestion that the All Blacks are looking for opposition for November 1 next year, which is a free week for Ireland.

Ireland boss Joe Schmidt admits he would like to take them on at the Aviva Stadium again and Kearney added: “I would love to.

“The more cracks we get at it the better. But, thankfully, players don’t have to make those decisions.”

Brian O’Driscoll has passed all the concussion protocols and will play in Northampton, while Devin Toner is set to return after his excellent Ireland displays at the expense of Leo Cullen, who is feeling his way back after injury.